Why can't you be prepared for a game session

[ThirdWizard]

2) In my experiance its better for campaigns when players dont level up at home in between sessions. If they all do it at the same time either before or after a game session

That's the thing that gets me about this thread. We always do our leveling before the session starts!

 

[Harmon]

Its been a few years for me in decline for my GMing skills. I have always GMed so that others can play (I find it more work then fun to GM)- less then a half dozen times in twenty odd years have I had fun GMing.

Recently however I have had to take more time to create campaigns, to come up with ideas for plots and campaign direction.

I think that inspiration is a major factor in my lacking in creating campaigns, either that or I have just started dreading the activity so much I don't want to do it anymore.

 

[jasamcarl]

I didn't mean to imply that only having children is a time sink, or that those without children should have all the time in the world. Just that children *is* a big drain on time, and it's not something that can be "rearranged" to make time; and it is *my* current time sink. (I've not had children longer than I've had children, so I can [vaguely] remember what it was like.)

What I failed to get across (because I really didn't say) was that most of the "excuses" the players make about the situation is that they "just didn't have time" during the week. If you don't have something as serious as say, children or work on a Master's degree or two jobs, how can you not have 20 minutes (absolute tops) a week to prepare for the game? If the game is not important enough to take 20 minutes to prepare before the game, how is it important enough to schedule 5 hours to *play* the game?

Several months ago, we had to take a 4-week break from the game due to Real Life schedule conflicts. The PCs (including mine -- I was not the DM this time) had gone up a level at the end of that last session, so the DM asked us players to update him on our level ups. I sent the DM my updates within a few days. One updated him a few days before the next session, another updated him the day of the game session, and the other updated his character while we sat down at the table. In 4 weeks, those players couldn't find time to update their stuff? 4 weeks in which to find 5 minutes?

I was playing in one group where we had 2 clerics plus my paladin. I had the turning table on my character sheet for quick and easy reference (should I ever need it -- what with the other 2 clerics). The campaign was an undead-hunting theme -- lots of undead, and we more than once used all our turning attempts in a day. Yet, every time they turned undead, both players had to open up their books and find the chart (they didn't even bookmark the page). When I pointed out that I had the chart on my character sheet, one of them commented that "Well I just don't have the time to get that organized." The irony was that at that time, he was a single college student with no job, and I was working full time with a 6-month old at home. And how long did it take me to copy the chart from the book onto my character sheet? Maybe 10 minutes, considering having to format the page to fit it on?

In general, my rant here is just how can anyone complain they "just don't have time" to prepare for a game each week? 1: it doesn't take *that* much time. 2: it's just polite to be ready. 3: don't complain to a parent about not having time.

Bullgrit

That logic doesn't hold up. There is a difference between playing a game and doing outside prep work; both are presumably about getting some enjoyment out of the end result of play. For many players, and some dms, i assume the prep work simply doesn't add enough enjoyment to the entire enterprise to be worthwhile. The assumption that a fun game requires a certain amount of prep is weak.

 

[jasamcarl]

It depends on what those priorities are. If those priorities are picking up the kids at day care or work, then the other players had better be understanding. A game is just a game. Some things are a helluva lot more important and should be respected.

Whose forcing you? Take some group responsibility and drop the player...

 

[Desdichado]

It's my fault Black Leaf died.

OK, so The_Universe says he was analy probed by Blackleaf, and then his wife says it's her fault Blackleaf died---

I honestly don't know what to make of that.